Ex-Im Approves Approximately $500 million to Finance Export of Boeing Dreamliners to Poland

(Source: Export-Import Bank; issued Nov. 16, 2012)

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) authorized a comprehensive guarantee of an approximately $500 million loan to Polskie Linie Lotnicze LOT S.A. (LOT Airlines) for the export of a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft to Poland.

Apple Bank for Savings of New York extended the loan.

Boeing delivered the first Dreamliner to LOT Friday Nov. 9 in Everett, Wash. The Dreamliner departed Seattle Wednesday and arrived in Warsaw, Poland yesterday. LOT will be the first European airline to operate the Dreamliner, and it was also the first European airline to operate the Boeing 767.

Ex-Im Bank’s financing will support approximately 2,500 U.S. jobs, according to bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.

“This landmark transaction brings American state-of-the-art aircraft to a competitive marketplace in Europe,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “By leveling the playing field, the Bank’s financing benefits business in both America and Poland and supports thousands of jobs in the U.S.”

Founded in 1928, LOT became the first airline in Central and Eastern Europe to operate American-manufactured aircraft. It is also the only airline that currently offers non-stop flights between the U.S. and Poland. The fleet of Dreamliners, which will contribute to LOT’s efforts to simplify, modernize, and upgrade its operations, will continue LOT’s non-stop North American service by flying routes to Warsaw from Chicago, New York, and Toronto.

“The Dreamliner delivery is yet another historic first for LOT, already one of the world’s oldest continuing airlines, as it becomes the first airline in Europe to operate the 787,” said Todd Nelp, vice president for European sales at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “We’re thankful that Poland’s flag carrier puts its faith in American aviation know-how, and that Ex-Im Bank is there to support our customers who enable and sustain thousands of U.S. technology jobs.”

Nippon Export and Investment Insurance of Japan is co-financing the transaction. (ends)

Ex-Im Approves $461 million to Finance Export of U.S. Satellites to Hong Kong (edited for length)

(Source: Export-Import Bank; issued Nov. 19, 2012)

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- In a decision that will support thousands of high-tech jobs in the U.S., the board of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) has authorized two transactions aggregating $461 million to underwrite the export of American-made satellites to Hong Kong.

The pair of transactions will support approximately 3,700 U.S. jobs, according to Bank estimates derived from Departments of Commerce and Labor data and methodology.

“We are excited to play such a key role in two dynamic transactions that will support several thousand high-paying U.S. jobs in the satellite and aeronautics industries,” said Ex-Im Bank Chairman and President Fred P. Hochberg. “These products reveal the technological ingenuity and innovation of American companies and will benefit millions of people the world over as we orient ourselves more and more to the future.”

Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS) of Hong Kong will deploy the satellites to upgrade and expand its fleet, which offers coverage to 80 percent of the world’s population and targets emerging markets in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Russia.

“We are absolutely delighted with the support of Ex-Im Bank to provide us financing for our upcoming satellite and launch platforms. In ABS-2, Space Systems/Loral provides us with one of the largest satellites ever to be launched over Asia. Separately, the combination of Boeing 702SP satellites and the Falcon-9 launch vehicles will revolutionize the Fixed Satellite industry with the most cost effective delivery of satellites into orbit,” said Tom Choi, chief executive officer of ABS. “With these satellites, ABS will extend the reach of affordable and reliable communications and broadcast services to the emerging markets of the world. We are proud to be partnered with such innovative companies and we are extremely thankful for Ex-Im’s financing support.”

In the first transaction, the Bank authorized a $171.29 million direct loan to ABS to finance the purchase of a FS1300, C/Ka/Ku-band geostationary satellite from Space Systems/Loral Inc. (SS/L) and insurance from Aon. The satellite is scheduled to launch in 2013.

SS/L, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of satellites and space systems, has manufactured more than 250 satellites since 1960. The satellites have delivered an excess of 1,900 years of on-orbit service.

Additionally, the Bank authorized a separate $289.71 million direct loan to ABS to facilitate the purchase of two 702SP C- and Ku-band geostationary satellites from Boeing Satellite Systems International (Boeing), insurance from Aon, technical support, and the launch of both of the satellites with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Falcon 9. The transaction will finance the first two of Boeing’s all-electric-propulsion commercial satellites and the first Ex-Im Bank-backed SpaceX launch. The two satellites are planned to launch in 2015 from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX designs, manufactures and launches rockets and spacecraft. It is the first private company to build, launch, and dock spacecraft at the International Space Station, a mission previously accomplished only by government space entities.

“Ex-Im Bank’s financing of the ABS mission on a Falcon 9 launch vehicle marks the first SpaceX international launch deal to receive Ex-Im backing, and we look forward to many more to come,” said Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX president. “SpaceX is rapidly winning back market share in a commercial field once dominated by the U.S. The support of Ex-Im is great for our customers, our jobs, and our country”

HSBC Hong Kong and New York Project & Export Finance teams acted as lead financial advisor to ABS throughout the Ex-Im Bank application and due diligence processes.